# David Metzger

David Metzger (born December 12, 1960) is an American composer, conductor, arranger, and orchestrator who has worked on many Disney Animation films, including Wish, Frozen, Frozen 2, Moana, Planes, Wreck-It Ralph, Tarzan, Brother Bear, and Mufasa: The Lion King. In addition to his work for Disney, he has done orchestrations for over 50 major films, composed the musical scores for Tarzan 2, Brother Bear 2, and Tarzan & Jane, and has numerous video game, theme park, television, and commercial credits, as well as co-arranging and orchestrating "When You Wish Upon a Star" for the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo with Mark Mancina, and co-composing the 2013 DisneyToon Studios logo with Mancina. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for his producing work on Frozen 2.
Metzger received a Tony and a Drama Desk nomination in 1998 for his orchestration of Broadway musical The Lion King. He won a DVDX award for best original score in a DVD premiere movie for Tarzan 2 in 2006.
He has orchestrated the Broadway musical Frozen and is also orchestrating the musical August Rush.

## Career

Metzger was the arranger for jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson in the late 1980s. From 1992 to 1997, he was the arranger for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Metzger was a longtime collaborator with film composer Mark Mancina. Beginning in 2008 he has also worked with other notable Hollywood and Broadway composers including Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Julia Michaels, Benjamin Rice, Alan Menken, John Powell, Alan Silvestri, Christophe Beck, and others.

## Personal life

Metzger grew up in Corvallis, Oregon. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from California State University, Long Beach. He also did graduate work at UCLA. He began composing for choir and jazz band in junior high school. In his young adult years, he wrote many jazz band charts that are still played today.
Metzger currently lives in Oregon with his wife. He has two grown sons.

## Discography
### Film orchestrations
#### 1990s

| Year | Title | Studio(s) | Composer |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Walt Disney Pictures | Hans Zimmer |
| 1997 | Speed 2: Cruise Control | 20th Century Fox | Mark Mancina |
| 1998 | Armageddon | Touchstone | Trevor Rabin |
| 1998 | Return to Paradise | Universal Pictures | Mark Mancina |
| 1999 | Tarzan | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Mark Mancina |

#### 2000s

| Year | Title | Studio(s) | Composer(s) | Notes |
| 2000 | Bait | Warner Bros. | Mark Mancina | |
| 2001 | Training Day | Warner Bros. | Mark Mancina | Composer of Additional Music |
| 2001 | Domestic Disturbance | Paramount Pictures | Mark Mancina | Composer of Additional Music |
| 2003 | Atlantis: Milo's Return | Walt Disney Home Entertainment Disneytoon Studios | Don L. Harper | |
| 2003 | Bad Boys II | Columbia Pictures | Trevor Rabin | |
| 2003 | Brother Bear | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Mark Mancina | Vocal Arranger |
| 2003 | The Haunted Mansion | Walt Disney Pictures | Mark Mancina | Composer of Additional Music Sound Consultant |
| 2004 | The Lion King 1½ | Walt Disney Home Entertainment Disneytoon Studios | Don L. Harper | |
| 2005 | Asylum | Paramount Classics | Mark Mancina | Additional Music Arranger |
| 2006 | Glory Road | Walt Disney Pictures | Trevor Rabin | Additional Orchestrations |
| 2006 | Scary Movie 4 | Dimension Films | James L. Venable | |
| 2006 | Flyboys | MGM | Trevor Rabin | |
| 2007 | August Rush | Warner Bros. | Mark Mancina | |
| 2007 | Shooter | Paramount Pictures | Mark Mancina | Synthesizer Programmer |
| 2007 | Live Free or Die Hard | 20th Century Fox | Marco Beltrami | Arranger of "America the Beautiful" |
| 2007 | The Simpsons Movie | 20th Century Fox | Hans Zimmer | |
| 2008 | Camille | Ruddy Morgan Productions | Mark Mancina | Composer of Additional Music |
| 2008 | Horton Hears a Who! | 20th Century Fox | John Powell | |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Panda | Dreamworks Animation | John Powell Hans Zimmer | |
| 2008 | Hancock | Columbia Pictures | John Powell | |
| 2008 | Bolt | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | John Powell | |
| 2009 | Imagine That | Paramount Pictures Nickelodeon Movies | Mark Mancina | Composer of Additional Music |
| 2009 | Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | 20th Century Fox | Alan Silvestri | |
| 2009 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | 20th Century Fox | John Powell | |
| 2009 | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Paramount Pictures | Alan Silvestri | |
| 2009 | Hurricane Season | The Weinstein Company Dimension Films | Mark Mancina | Composer of Additional Music |

#### 2010s

| Year | Title | Studio(s) | Composer(s) | Notes |
| 2010 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid | 20th Century Fox | Theodore Shapiro | |
| 2010 | Knight and Day | 20th Century Fox | John Powell | |
| 2010 | How to Train Your Dragon | Dreamworks Animation | John Powell | |
| 2011 | Mars Needs Moms | Walt Disney Pictures | John Powell | |
| 2011 | Winnie The Pooh | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Henry Jackman | |
| 2011 | Rio | 20th Century Fox | John Powell | |
| 2011 | Kung Fu Panda 2 | Dreamworks Animation | Hans Zimmer John Powell | |
| 2011 | X-Men: First Class | 20th Century Fox | Henry Jackman | |
| 2011 | Captain America: The First Avenger | Paramount Pictures | Alan Silvestri | |
| 2011 | Happy Feet Two | Warner Bros. | John Powell | |
| 2012 | The Raven | Intrepid Pictures | Lucas Vidal | |
| 2012 | The Pirates: Band of Misfits | Sony Pictures Animation | Theodore Shapiro | |
| 2012 | Emperor | Krasnoff Foster Productions | Alex Heffes | |
| 2012 | The Lorax | Universal Pictures | John Powell | |
| 2012 | Ice Age: Continental Drift | 20th Century Fox | John Powell | |
| 2012 | Wreck-It Ralph | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Henry Jackman | |
| 2012 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | Lionsgate | Carter Burwell | |
| 2012 | The Avengers | Marvel Studios | Alan Silvestri | |
| 2013 | The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone | Freestyle Releasing | Marc Fantini Steffan Fantini | |
| 2013 | Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return | Clarius Entertainment Prana Studios | Toby Chu | |
| 2013 | Escape Plan | Emmett/Furla Films | Alex Heffes | |
| 2013 | Planes | Walt Disney Pictures Disneytoon Studios | Mark Mancina | Composer of Additional Music |
| 2013 | Frozen | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Christophe Beck Robert Lopez Kristen Anderson-Lopez | Additional Work as Song Arranger |
| 2014 | Planes: Fire and Rescue | Walt Disney Pictures Disneytoon Studios | Mark Mancina | Composer of Additional Music |
| 2014 | Muppets Most Wanted | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Christophe Beck | |
| 2014 | Rio 2 | 20th Century Fox | John Powell | |
| 2014 | How to Train Your Dragon 2 | DreamWorks Animation | John Powell | |
| 2015 | Strange Magic | Touchstone Pictures Lucasfilm | Marius de Vries | Choir Contractor |
| 2015 | Frozen Fever | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Christophe Beck | Additional Work as Song Arranger and Conductor |
| 2015 | Ant-Man | Marvel Studios | Christophe Beck | |
| 2016 | Ice Age: Collision Course | 20th Century Fox | John Debney | |
| 2016 | Moana | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Mark Mancina Lin-Manuel Miranda Opetaia Foa'i | Additional work as Song, Score, and Vocal Arranger, Additional Music Composer |
| 2017 | Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie | DreamWorks Animation | Theodore Shapiro | |
| 2017 | Olaf's Frozen Adventure | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Christophe Beck | Additional work as Music Song Producer and Song and Score Arranger |
| 2017 | The Star | Sony Pictures Animation | John Paesano | |
| 2018 | Ralph Breaks the Internet | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Henry Jackman | Song Arranger and Orchestrator of "A Place Called Slaughter Race" |
| 2019 | The Lion King | Walt Disney Pictures Fairview Entertainment | Hans Zimmer | |
| 2019 | Frozen 2 | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios | Christophe Beck Robert Lopez Kristen Anderson-Lopez | Song Arranger and Orchestrator of all songs; Score Orchestrator; Co-Producer of all songs |

#### 2020s

| Year | Title | Studio(s) | Composer(s) | Notes |
| 2022 | Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile | Columbia Pictures Sony Pictures Releasing | Matthew Margeson Benj Pasek and Justin Paul | Song Arranger, Producer, and Orchestrator of "Take A Look At Us Now" |
| 2022 | Spirited | Apple TV+ Apple Studios | Dominic Lewis Benj Pasek and Justin Paul | Song Arranger, Producer, and Orchestrator of all songs |
| 2022 | Disenchanted | Walt Disney Pictures | Alan Menken | Song Arranger and Orchestrator of all songs |
| 2024 | Mufasa: The Lion King | Walt Disney Pictures | Nicholas Britell | Producer and Orchestrator |

### Broadway orchestrations

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1997 | The Lion King | Nominated for Tony Award for Best Orchestrations Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Orchestrations |
| 2016 | Up Here | La Jolla Playhouse |
| 2018 | Frozen |
| | August Rush | Upcoming |

### Film and TV composer

| Years | Title | Notes |
| 1992–1997 | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | TV, NBC 23 episodes |
| 1998–2000 | The Magnificent Seven | TV, CBS 12 episodes |
| 2001–2003 | The Legend of Tarzan | TV, Disney 9 episodes |
| 2002 | Tarzan & Jane | Disney DVDX Nomination for Best Original Score in a DVD Premiere Movie Co-composed with Patrick Griffin and Don L. Harper |
| 2005 | Blood+ | Aniplex, Production I.G. Co-composed with Mark Mancina |
| 2005 | Tarzan II | Disney DVDX Winner for Best Original Score in a DVD Premiere Movie Co-composed with Mark Mancina |
| 2006 | Brother Bear 2 | Disney |
| 2023 | Once Upon a Studio | Disney |
| 2023 | Wish | Disney |

### Video games

* You Don't Know Jack (1999).
* Sorcery (2012). Arranger, additional music. Sony Computer Entertainment
* Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009). Additional music, 3 levels. Activision

### Miscellaneous

Disney Castle Logo. Orchestrator and Arranger. Disney, 2006.